In India, most of the young buyers opt for aftermarket silencers on motorcycles especially on Royal Enfield bikes and many cities across the country are facing a nuisance including Punjab.

Keeping a check on rising noise pollution, motorcycles with modified silencers will be impounded confirmed Om Prakash Soni, Punjab Environment minister. A report on PTI says that in a high-level meeting of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and Environment Department officers it was decided to impound bikes that create thumping sound due to modification of silencers.

In India, most of the young buyers opt for aftermarket silencers on motorcycles especially on Royal Enfield bikes and many cities across the country are facing a nuisance including Punjab. The loud thumping noise from these silencers are not just a big cause of noise pollution but also reduces the efficiency of the bike and is a big safety hazard. Royal Enfield bikes are way too noisy and its this thumping noise that has bought the company some built a loyal customer fan base. Impounding and seizing of these illegal motorcycles had already begun down south in cities like Bengaluru, Mysore and now cities in Punjab including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala will soon crack down on bikes with modified silencers.

Earlier, Bengaluru Police had fined these illegal bikes under Section 190 (2) of the Motor Vehicle Road book, and the silencers were hammered out of shape in front of the bike owners. Traffic cops in Pune carried out a crackdown last year and booked over 150 cases collecting a total fine of over Rs 40,000.

In Punjab, online services of pollution checking centres has now been fast-tracked and emission details of every vehicle will be available online. Modifying your bike's exhausts is not good for bike's emissions and moreover is a big safety hazard. It is also a big cause of noise pollution caused by vehicles and crackdown by government and police is a good move to reduce pollution.